ABC and Screen Australia have announced that filming has commenced in Sydney on Optics, a new 6-part comedy series from the brilliant creative minds of Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst (The Feed, Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story) and The Chaser’s Charles Firth.
Written by and starring this dynamic trio, Optics is an Easy Tiger and Chaser Digital production, directed by the award-winning Max Miller (, Australian Epic), executive produced by Firth, Easy Tiger’s Rob Gibson and Ian Collie (), Owen and Zerbst, and produced by Paige Wharehinga.
Optics follows two whip-smart 20-something women (Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst) who are unexpectedly promoted to run crisis management PR firm Fritz & Randell, after the death of office patriarch Frank Fritz. As they battle weekly public relations crises from celebrities, sports stars and corporate titans, and power challenges from veteran PR flack Ian Randell (Charles Firth), they slowly come to realise that their firm might have a scandal brewing of its own, and start to wonder: have they been set up to fail?
It’s a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud workplace comedy that lifts the veil on everyday office politics and on the corporate spin that inflects all the news we consume.
Screen Australia COO Grainne Brunsdon said, “Optics is clever, high-energy and perfectly poised to elevate Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst’s careers. With their unique style and Charles’ hilarious touch, it’s an exhilarating ride that highlights the absurdities of our digital age. I can’t wait to watch it on the ABC.”
ABC Head of Scripted Rachel Okine said, “We’re thrilled to be working with such an incredibly talented team to bring this fast-paced and bitingly funny comedy to ABC. As well as being dazzled by their sharp comic minds, we know audiences will also be gobsmacked to learn what goes on behind the scenes in the often murky world of PR.”
Rob Gibson and Ian Collie said, “Jenna and Vic are among our brightest new comedy talents, and their intergenerational sparring with the always-hilarious Charles Firth – the middle-aged man’s middle-aged man – is comedy gold. We can’t wait for Australia to see them all practising the dark arts of PR in the halls of Fritz and Randell.”
Owen, Zerbst and Firth said, “When we started, we were worried that there weren’t enough PR crises in Australia to sustain 30 minutes of television each week. As it turns out, there’s enough material for about 30 years of television each week.”
Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said, “Jenna and Vic are two of the most exciting and refreshing voices in comedy and I can’t wait to see them join forces with Charles Firth to put their own unique spin on the world of crisis PR. Screen NSW are thrilled to support the entire team, including Easy Tiger and Chaser Digital, in bringing this hilarious series to ABC next year.”
Optics will premiere on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2025.
Production credit: Optics is an Easy Tiger and Chaser Digital production for the ABC. Major production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. Financed with support from Screen NSW. Optics is produced in association with and distributed by ITV Studios. Created and written by Jenna Owen, Vic Zerbst and Charles Firth. Executive Producers: Charles Firth, Easy Tiger’s Rob Gibson and Ian Collie, Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst, and ABC’s Rachel Okine and Todd Abbott. Produced by Paige Wharehinga.
